Wallace qualified and finished second that night, hinting at the promise fulfilled Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. He became the first African-American driver to win in a NASCAR national series in nearly 50 years with a victory in the Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race.

It was the first major win by a black driver since Wendell Scott's Dec. 1, 1963 triumph at Jacksonville, Fla. Scott, who died in December 1990, was a native of Danville â?? about 30 miles east of Martinsville â?? and his family members spent Sunday morning at the 0.526-mile track basking with Wallace in the wake of his historic win.

"This young man has only just begun," Scott said. "From Caraway to now and what daddy would want to happen, this is a miracle. This is a miracle sitting here."

Franklin Scott said Wallace has "all the ingredients to be a champion.

"When the checkered flag dropped (Saturday), I heard a big boom from heaven," Franklin Scott said. "My daddy said, 'Hell, yeah.' It was ironic he'd win this race in Martinsville, so close to Danville. My father raced here every year. I thought it amazing that it happened here.

"Everyone in Danville is excited, and the phone's been jumping off hook from all over the country. We knew he's going to do well. We ask for the fans and media to support him and allow time for ups and downs because in racing, they will come."

Wallace, who turned 20 on Oct. 8, is in his rookie season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports on the truck circuit and is the fourth full-time black driver in one of NASCAR's top three national series, joining Scott, Willy T. Ribbs and Bill Lester.

The Mobile, Ala., native said he initially hadn't concerned himself with the magnitude of the win, though.

"Then the remarks and stories started flowing in afterward about the history, and all of that came rushing in, and I had no idea," he said. "It's great, but I have to perform and think about what I have to do on track to get me back in victory lane. Adding more pressure definitely doesn't help. I just go back to the No. 1 thing a racer should do is have fun and let everything else settle into place."

Wallace, who was scheduled to appear on CNN and several national news programs Sunday, said he'd seen a lot of tweets with #history.

"It hasn't hit me yet," he said. "It usually takes a couple of days for a big win to settle in. It's been great seeing all the (media) outlets and doing all this stuff.

"It's for the better and trying to change the sport. I'm all in for that. Just carrying the torch that Wendell Scott laid down for us and taking it farther. That's the biggest thing I'm trying to do. But I don't pay attention to the media stuff and let that get to me."